Oregon dairy pays $12,000 for alleged animal waste discharges

(Seattle – June 21, 2011) RSC Dairy, LLC has agreed to pay a $12,000 penalty to settle animal waste discharge violations at its dairy located in Tillamook, Oregon.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the violations were noted during an inspection of RSC Dairy operations in January 2010. During that inspection, EPA and Oregon Department of Agriculture field personnel determined that animal waste had been discharged from the dairy into Hall Slough, a tributary to Wilson River which flows into Tillamook Bay.

Samples of the discharges from the facility showed a high concentration of E.coli bacteria.

The discharges violated a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued to RSC Dairy by the State of Oregon. Since being notified of the violations, RSC Dairy has taken steps to correct the violations.

“It is crucial that manure from dairy facilities like RSC is properly managed and kept out of our rivers and streams,” said Edward Kowalski, Director of EPA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle. “We expect all concentrated animal feeding operations to comply with their permit requirements to protect public health and the environment.”

RSC Dairy confines, feeds and maintains approximately 500 cows at its Tillamook facility.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations are a leading source of water quality impairment in the U.S.

The NPDES permit program, a section of the federal Clean Water Act, controls water pollution by regulating sources that discharge pollutants to waters in the United States.